When I was an individual contributor, I couldn’t wait to be a manager so I would be in a position to make all of the decisions for my department. I thought I had some great ideas and really wanted to make a positive impact in my department and for the company. Then, when I became a manager, I realized that most of my annual budget was fixed and that all of my decisions of consequence, such as hiring people, giving promotions and staff assignments, required the review and approval of my manager.

So guess what? I couldn’t wait to have my boss’s job because I thought when I was a manager of managers I would at last be in a position to make all of the decisions for the groups I managed. Well, while it was true that I had a little more latitude to make decisions, I again found that most of my budget was still controlled by those above me, and like before, needed permission from those more senior than I when making important decisions for the company. After all, even at this higher level of management, I still had a boss and I still had specific and defined levels of authority. In fact, I found this to be true at almost all levels of management.

The moral of this story is that you should understand that, like you, your manager has specific constraints within his/her job, limited decision-making authority and limited ability to influence higher-level decision-makers.

Understanding your manager’s constraints and organizational limitations has the following advantages:

Helps you know what not to request because your boss will not be able to deliver.

Helps you decide what you can ask for and have reasonable certainty that your boss can deliver if he/she wishes to do so.

Saves you from embarrassing your boss by forcing him/her to admit that he/she doesn’t have the authority and/or cannot get permission to act.

Can help reduce your level of frustration with your manager for not acting faster, slower or differently.

Can help you get things done by working toward your boss’ strengths, rather than his/her weaknesses.

Will help set your personal expectation of the authority you will have when promoted into a more senior management role.

Will help prepare you for promotion by learning what can and cannot be done.

When I look back on my career and at the managers I had over the years, I now have a better understanding of not only why they did (and didn’t do) various things, but also how they got things done. Some managers always seemed to make things happen regardless of the difficulty and organizational roadblocks. Other managers always seemed to be mired in red tape and unable to get things done. In retrospect, I believe that my most successful managers were at least partially assisted by their ability to understand what their boss could or could not do for them and then acted based on this knowledge. If appropriate, they asked their boss for help. If their boss was not in a position to provide assistance, then with their boss’ permission they would work through other company channels to get results. Many of these managers have risen to very senior managerial roles, and to the best of my knowledge they are still providing great results.

In closing, my suggestion to you is to try to understand your manager’s organizational constraints and then use this knowledge to help your manager, help your company and, in the process, help yourself professionally.

The primary advice and takeaways from today’s column is to know that:

Managers at all levels have specifically defined and/or assumed levels of authority.

Knowing your manager’s organizational ability to get things done can be of great value to your manager, your company and to you professionally.

Until next time, manage well, manage smart and continue to grow.

Eric P. Bloom, based in Ashland, Mass., is the president and founder of Manager Mechanics LLC. He is also a nationally syndicated columnist, keynote speaker and author of the award-winning book “Manager Mechanics: Tips and Advice for First-Time Managers.” Contact him at eric@ManagerMechanics.com, follow him on Twitter at @EricPBloom, or visit www.ManagerMechanics.com.